Culture-Led Rural Revitalisation in Chinese Intermediary Cities

Abstract

In recent years, China has attempted to reorientate its urban-biased growth regime by promoting rural regeneration in intermediary cities while simultaneously strengthening its urban–rural linkages. The culture-led revitalisation has emerged as a pivotal approach in this policy shift towards more sustainable urbanisation, and various national programs have been launched. However, structural and institutional weaknesses of intermediary cities, such as administrative marginalisation, fiscal constraints and limited human capital, are today challenging the ambition of local governments. Additionally, the explosion of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences have substantially undermined two essential aspects of culture-led revitalisation in intermediary cities: cultural and rural domestic tourism and the incipient cultural and creative sector. These effects pose a serious risk to the successful implementation of the initiatives to reorientate China's urban-biased growth and strengthen its urban–rural linkages. This chapter presents the case of two rural villages in Longchang, a typical Chinese intermediary city in Neijiang, Sichuan, to discuss the challenges faced in the local culture-led revitalisation and to highlight the effects of the pandemic. The findings suggest that the culture-led approach, which has successfully driven sustainable urban transformation elsewhere, cannot address the marginalisation of intermediary cities given the mutating conditions in the local context, especially since the onset of the pandemic. However, the learnings from the two cases suggest that an active local community, particularly in one case study, can make a difference, showing the potential for more endogenous and sustainable approaches, which is worth considering for the future.

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